These Powers That Be
by mari2
Summary: If you thought you knew the story, if you thought you understood...well, you were wrong, and this time Sarah won't win.- Jareth. (Rating just to be safe, J/S...) ChApTeR 6!!!
1. The King's Story

**Disclaimer:**  Don't own labyrinth, or anything else you recognize. please don't sue me…

Okay, well here's the deal.  This is actually my second Labyrinth fic.  My last one kind of died in the idea department, though if ya'll go read it and leave me reviews maybe it will give me some ideas (it's called "Kingdom Keepers.")  Soooo I hope ya'll will forgive me, and give this one a shot.  I won't make any promises, but I'll try and I hope you like it.  Please leave reviews, they help me write, I swear….

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**These Powers that Be**

            I hope you know this isn't how I normally operate.  Stealing children, creating nightmares and dreamworlds for a…child.  That's all Sarah is, despite what I may want her to be.  Though to be fair, a child for which I left all the responsibilities of my kingdom, my subjects and my life for thirteen hours. 

            Give or take.  For me, take.

            Though it is really my fault she called me in the first place, and her adventure is what I made of it.  The call, that is.  Sadly, I have to tell you that if your little sister lost your favorite earrings, or you got stuck babysitting your brother for one too many times, saying the words would not bring me to you.  There are ways, of course to reach the underworld if you are meant to be there.  There are ways all around you that you cannot see.  But your words do not have the power to call me. 

            The problem is, you didn't listen to the story.  At least, you heard only what you wanted to hear.  

            "For the goblin king had fallen in love with the girl, _and he had given her certain powers…"_

            That's how it was supposed to be told, anyway.  So now you begin to understand.  It was not any power of Sarah's that called me, except the power I gave to her.  And she refused me, despite the way I turned the world around for her.  

            But it doesn't matter.  There is fun yet to come.  Because Sarah hasn't discovered the other traps, the other tools she unwittingly, perhaps unwillingly, yields to bring her back to me.  There are worlds yet to be built and challenges unmet…

            But next time, of course, Sarah will not win.  

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So too confusing…should I hide my head under a pillow in shame…of get typing at the next opportunity?  Leave a review and let me know!!! (pleeeaaassseee……..)


	2. Karen's Silent Story

**Disclaimer:**  Don't own labyrinth, or anything else you recognize. Please don't sue me…

My last author note was too long, now that I look at it.  Just read the story.  Review the story.  Thank you very, very much!

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**These Powers that Be**

            "Sarah!"  Karen stood at the bottom of the stairs and screamed up at her stepdaughter's closed door.  "Sarah!  If you are late for school one more time….Well, I'm not calling in an excuse, and you are _this close to failing History for unexcused absences…"_

            Karen trailed off, as if giving up, and stormed into the kitchen.

Up in her room Sarah was dressed and ready for another torturous day at Alter Reede Secondary. She wore a floaty, lavender peasant blouse and an expertly faded pair of jeans.  Completed with a pair of boots she stole from Karen's closet (the woman was good for something, sometimes, at least) Sarah was more than ready to step into first period and tackle whatever war was the topic of the day.  She was ready, but she couldn't quite bring herself to leave the room.  

She was busy staring at the cover of a little red and gold book, a book which she could have sworn she has a nightmare about just days before.  At least, it must have been a nightmare.  Nothing like…that…could have ever really happened.  Yet, here she was still staring at the little book, willing herself to remember every detail of the elaborate fantasy her brain had created.  

_Hoggle__.__  Ludo.  Sir Didymus.  Jareth.  Jareth.  Jareth._

That's how she knew the story was truly fake, a sometimes frightening, sometimes wonderful dream.  Jareth.  A handsome, albeit cruel and terrifying, King did not fall in love with a young girl who selfishly wished away her baby brother.  Yet here she was, soon to be late for school, and staring dumbly at the cover of the little book.

Sarah finally stood up, carrying the book with her.  Sighing, she stuffed it deep into her backpack, and prepared to make a run for good ol'ARS.  As she opened the door of her room, Karen once again appeared at the bottom of the stairs.  

"Sarah!  There you are.  I just cannot believe how irresponsible you are being.  If you aren't out that door in the next two seconds…

Sarah felt her anger at Karen begin to build.  Karen didn't know what it was like.  To have such extraordinary dreams and then have to face another day in such a boring, ordinary place…a place where she had no friends.  Karen continued talking as Sarah made her way down the stairs trying to ignore her.  

"…to think we leave such an irresponsible, selfish child in charage fo my own baby.  How do you expect to be trusted with Toby…"

Suddenly Sarah couldn't ignore Karen any longer.  Her ranting had cut a little too close where it came to Toby.  Sarah's anger began to become something tangible and uncontrollable.  She knew that if Karen said one more word, she would do something terrible.  Sarah was at the door, and about to turn around to scream back at Karen, when Karen suddenly fell silent.  With a sigh, Sarah left without a backward glance.

As the door closed in Karen's face, her outrage intensified, but there was no way Sarah could know it.  Karen was still screaming, but, as if compelled by some mysterious force, her voice was gone.  

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Thanks to LadyIconDraco, Labychick, Speaker of the Spirits, Heikgan, Angel-Fergie and Susy for reviewing the last chapter.  I can't promise any more chapters quite so fast, but I will try.  I hope you still like the story.


	3. James' Story

**Disclaimer:**  Standard applies.  Don't own it.  Wish I did.  Oh, well.  

**These Powers That Be**

When the bell rang, Sarah sighed.  History was over, but math was yet to come.  Not quite so dreaded, but nearly.  Math didn't appeal to Sarah's fantasy-loving nature---too many numbers and no room for argument or imagination.

            Once she closed her locker, Sarah headed straight to class, even though she technically had 15 minutes to wander the hallways.  It was routine for Sarah to sit in class reading, and her teachers just gave up on encouraging her to socialize when they saw how lose she became in her books.  As she approached the door of her classroom, Sarah's books began to slip and she shifted her backpack quickly in an attempt to keep them from falling.  Suddenly, a pair of hands lifted her books out of her hands, at the same time steadying her to keep her from falling.  

            "Whoa!  You must have some evil teachers if you're falling over from carrying everything."  

            Sarah looked up to see a boy of about 17 smiling at her.  Make that a _handsome boy.  Something clenched in her stomach when she realized his blonde hair reminded her of someone else she was more than a little attracted to._

            "Sorry." she managed.  "I'm fine, thanks, so if you could just give me my books back…"

            "It's not like I stole them." he said, frowning slightly.  "Look, my name's James Blake.  I just started school here today, and while I've already rescued a few other damsels in distress, I have yet to find a class on time."  

            Sarah eyed him warily.

            "Can you show me the way to Physics…Landers…Room 350…"  he finished with a smile.

            Sarah finally found her voice.  "Sorry…I'm sorry, yes. I can show you the way.  I had Landers last semester.  He's a good teacher, but the tests are hard."

            "Lead the way."

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            A few minutes later, Sarah and James were standing outside room 350 on the second floor of Alter Reede Secondary.  

            "This is it.  Goodbye."  Sarah started off, eager to escape James, who had been questioning her intently the whole way.  He had an intense look, though not a rival to that of a certain goblin king.  

            "Sarah, wait."  

            Sarah turned slowly to see James smiling back at her again.  

            "Look, I don't really know my way around town any better than around school.  Do you think you could show me around after school today?"

            Sarah hesitated, trying to think of a way to say no politely, but firmly.

            "Well…"

            "I appreciate it so much, Sarah.  Look, I have my car here.  Wanna meet me by the main doors after the last bell?"

            Before Sarah could get a word, much less a protest in edgewise, James was headed back into class.

            "The car's silver, you'll see me.  Okay, great!  Bye…"

Sarah stood in the hallway, dumbstruck.  What has just happened here?

"This is so…"  

_unfair__…_

Sarah's voice trailed off nervously, thinking of the dreams that haunted her while she was awake.  Suddenly, she realized how silent the hallway was, and looked up to find it nearly empty.

"Dammit!  I'm going to be late!"  Sarah stormed off to class, not even looking which way she was going.  A split second later, Sarah's books spilled out of her hands once more as she collided with something hard.  

"What the…"

Sarah looked up in shock as the door to her math classroom opened.  _But I was just in the upstairs hallway.  I wanted to be here, but I wasn't. _

"Ahem."

Sarah turned her attention to the disapproving look on her math teacher's face. 

"Since you've decided to join us Sarah, perhaps you could take your seat.  The bell should ring any…

A shrill beeping sounded through the hallways, and her teacher trailed off with a smug glance as Sarah hurried, head down, to her seat, with questions racing through her head.

_What just happened here?_

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What did just happen?  What will happen?  I'll let you know when I get some more reviews.  Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.  Please, suggestions, comments, are helpful even if they are negative (but nicely phrased) I will listen.  Don't worry, this story is J/S and btw, James is not Jareth.  Also, the next chapter is longer and Jareth, never mind I'm not going to tell you until you review.

-mari


	4. Sarah's Story

**These Powers That Be**

It was starting to become very clear to Sarah that strange things were going on.  Either she was losing her mind, or….

"…or nothing, because it was all a dream.  The labyrinth…Jareth…a nightmare."  Sarah scolded herself under her breath.  

            Since math, things had just gotten stranger and stranger.  First there had been her sudden, unexplained trip from the hallway outside Physics 350 to her second period math class.  She had tried to convince herself she was just tired and worried about the new kid, James.  However, even her healthy imagination couldn't explain away everything that was happening to her.  

During a science quiz, she couldn't remember the formula she needed for the very first problem.  Seconds later, the formula appeared on her paper.  Sarah blinked and turned the paper every which way, but she knew it hadn't been there before.  

When walking from science to lunch, her mind wandered and seconds later she was at her favorite spot in the courtyard holding her lunch and a book that had been all the way in her locker.  There was no way she was that much of a daydreamer.  She would have remembered stepping over people eating lunch in the hallway to get to her locker and searching her book out of the mess that lived inside.

Looking back, she began to think her history teacher's sudden case of laryngitis during his boring lecture about the harbingers of the Great Depression was more than a little suspicious.  

Every time she wanted something, it seemed to happen.  When she wished for something, it appeared.  

"My every wish…"

_I can give you your dreams…_

"Dammit, I'm going crazy!"  Sarah looked around quickly, thinking she may have said that a little too loud.  Then, just as she reached the main exit, Sarah realized that she had forgotten her psychology book in class.  As she turned to race back to class before her teacher left, she tripped over…

"My book?!?!?  I can't believe this!  What the hell is happening?"  

All of Sarah's anger and confusion seemed to converge on the poor, defenseless textbook lying on the ground in front of her, covered by the telltale paper-bag book cover strewn with her own drawings.  As Sarah bit back a scream of frustration, the book suddenly went flying forward and out into the crowd of students milling around waiting for carpools and buses.  

Sarah stared in shock.  She was sure she hadn't kicked the book.  Or was she sure of anything?  She felt like she was going to cry, and was in awe of her seeming discovery all at once.  

_What else can I do?_  It was a terrifying and thrilling thought.  

"Sarah!  You've lost your books again.  Or, maybe it was on purpose…"

Sarah snapped her head up to find a confused, but smiling James, holding up her book, and she quickly realized it must have landed in his car.  Purely on accident.

Sarah hurried down the concrete steps, glancing warily at the silver Porsche that was much nicer than most of the cars at ARS, and snatched her book out of James' hands.  

"I'm sorry.  Thanks.  Bye."

"Wait.  I thought we were going to go out.  You know, you could show me around…"

"I can't.  I have to baby-sit my little brother."

"Oh, come on.  That's just an excuse."  Suddenly, James hand grabbed her arm pulling her back towards the car.  

            "Let go of me."  Sarah said, glaring at him.  

            "Oh, come on."  James said laughing.

"You must be hard of hearing."  Sarah managed through clenched teeth.  "I told you to leave me alone."

 "Don't run away from me, Sarah."

            Detecting a new and surprisingly menacing tone in James' voice, Sarah turned to look at him.  His eyes were dark with an anger and challenge that belied his previous seemingly clam nature.  

            "Let go of me."  Sarah repeated, struggling to escape his grasp.

            "Stop being such a bitch, Sarah.  Just shut up and come with me."

            His arrogance made Sarah even madder than she had been before.  It reminded her a little too much of a certain Goblin King, make-believe or not.  She felt anger rising up inside her to the point of bursting.  Suddenly, she recognized with a mixture of horror and excitement that strange, new feeling of almost uncontrollable power erupting inside her.  She felt James' grip suddenly loosen, and turned back just in time to see him fly a good five or six feet backwards into the door of his car as if he had been punched in the stomach.  

            Sarah stared at James' in shock, but his face registered nothing more than anger.  When Sarah's shock began to fade, she realized how quiet the school grounds had suddenly become.  Then a wave of whispers began to shift through the crowd.  

            _"What happened?"     "She's crazy.  She must have pushed him"    "No he is.   He just threw himself backwards."  "No, she…"_

Sarah tried desperately to block out the sound and think of something to do.  She wished she were anywhere but here, being stared at by her classmates, suddenly too scared to laugh it off, or run or do anything much at all.  She wished she could be safe somewhere where she wasn't different or unwanted.  

            _Where is there?  Sarah thought bitterly.  _Not here.  Not home with Karen.  Not with my mother.  I have nothing.__

            Time seemed to stand still and Sarah barely noticed a tear running down here cheek.  Suddenly, Sarah thought of the last place she ever would have expected.  The Labyrinth, with my friends…  I wish I was there.

            Sarah felt a shiver race down her back, as the sun slid unexpectedly behind a cloud and the previously sunny day cooled.  The school around her turned gray and foreboding.  The inhabitants of the parking lot seemed to freeze and fade and a familiar voice sent another shiver down her spine.  

            "I knew you'd realize it soon enough, little girl.  The Labyrinth is the best place for you…the only place.  You'll be happy there, cared about, as powerful as you want to be."

            Sarah couldn't bring herself to turn around; she just stood staring at the still darkening sky.  

            "Look at me, Sarah."  The voice commanded.  "You wished for this, now face it."

            Sarah turned slowly to face her dream…and her nightmare.    

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Well, that's the end for now.  Please, please review.  Thanks to for reviewing the last chapter.  Ya'll are awesome!  BTW, I am very scared of bad reviews, so if you don't like something please be nice (everyone has been, I'm just nervous.)  Plus, if you have any story ideas, please share.  Please, please review so I know if you guys are reading and want me to write more.  Thank you thank you.  Thanks to Heikgan, Raven Hino, and Crystal Unicorn (more J soon, for u) for reviewing chapter 3!   

-mari


	5. The Story of the Key

Well, hi ya'll.  Sorry this chapter took awhile.  I am writing this as I go along, praying my imagination doesn't come up with stuff to make it too confusing (I have a basic plot and ending.)  Anyways, I am excited about writing the next chapter now that things are getting good, so I will the first chance I get and post right away.  Please review if you like it, and even if you don't, please, please, please, I love reviews.  Let me know if anything is confusing, if you have ideas, or questions, or whatever.    

**These Powers That Be**

_"I wish the goblins would come and take you away right now."_

As she slowly turned to answer the taunting command she had been issued, realization struck Sarah all at once. She really had wished her brother away before by saying _the words.  It had to have been real, or real enough, if the owner of that seductive, daunting voice could be standing behind her in the school parking lot._

All the strange things that had happened over the course of the day raced through her mind.  If the Labyrinth was real, had it affected her in some way?  

_"Well the fact that I can fling teenage boys backwards a couple of yards without touching them does seem a little suspicious."_  Sarah thought bitterly.  _"Or maybe it wasn't me at all.  Maybe it was Jar…_him_…all along."_

Suddenly Sarah began to feel angry, the way she had been when her Psychology book, and, later, James had become airborne.  Refusing to let the accompanying fear betray her with even a tremble, she took a deep breath and slowly traced her deep green eyes upwards until the met the icy, mismatched eyes of her former opponent.  

_"Former, because I beat him once, despite what challenge he might think he can give me now.  Of course, he has nothing of mine, so this time I won't be persuaded to play some silly game."_

However, Sarah's boldness dissolved, and she felt her stomach tighten and her eyes go wide as they locked into the gaze of the Goblin King.  

"Well, Sarah, I must say it was kind of you to finally call on me again.  Actually, I'm surprised you were able to do it so soon, but then, you are always surprising me."

Sarah shivered, noticing that the parking lot had turned even darker while Jareth spoke, so that now it seemed as if Sarah and Jareth were standing alone in a dark mist, with a storm approaching.  She could smell the anticipation of rain, or something more sinister on the wind.

"Sarah, pay attention to me.  I am going to tell you your challenge." Jareth snapped impatiently, pulling her attention back to him full force.

"Challenge…"  Sarah said quietly.  "What challenge?!?!  I didn't wish anyone away this time!  I was mad at James, but I didn't call you to take him.  I didn't say anything near the words!"  Sarah was beginning to feel her earlier anger completely take over any fear she had of Jareth.  "It's not…"

"Fair?"  Jareth cut in.  "No, dear Sarah, that isn't the right thing to say.  "You saw only a small part of my kingdom, so I can forgive your foolishness."  

Jareth didn't notice as Sarah flinched irately at that comment, and continued speaking. 

 "However, as I suppose you will soon learn, my kingdom is vast and there are many avenues to reach it.  Just now, you used one of them, and now I have the right to take you back there with me, even if you did it unknowingly.  Just as you have the right to face my challenge and escape."  

"But that isn't… reasonable."  Sarah managed.  "You can't just pull me away every time I accidentally do something that you construe as an invitation to kidnap me!"

"Sarah, you clearly wished for me to come.  Anyone with power can call me, if they are willing to accept the consequences.  You wished to be in the Labyrinth, and I am trying to oblige.  You cannot tell me you haven't noticed that you are significantly more powerful now than ever before."

_"I should have been more careful.  I would have been if I knew what was going on.  However, I can't deny that everything I've wanted today has happened.  Though I can't believe I wanted this!"  _Thoughts raced through Sarah's mind, though she stayed silent under Jareth's gaze.  _"Well, I beat him once before.  And now I seem to have magical powers.  If there's no way out, I'll just beat him again."_

"If I were to say I believed you."  Sarah began.  "If I were to say I did wish to be in the Labyrinth, even if I didn't necessarily wish for you.  Well…what would my challenge be?"

"To find the key to the Labyrinth."

"You mean run the Labyrinth again?"

"Sarah, you are sometimes very stupid.  Or at least, you think too much." 

Jareth stopped to smile as Sarah frowned at him, irritated.  

"The Labyrinth has a key, which allows anyone to bend it at their will and reach my castle well within any time limits I may set for them, or, if they have come to the Labyrinth without my knowledge, before my guards could even know that they are there. It has been stolen. Obviously, this is somewhat of an inconvenience to me and a danger to the inhabitants of my Labyrinth.  If, or when, you find the key, I will allow you to leave the Labyrinth."

"What's my time limit?"  

"There isn't one, this time.  Only, if I find the key first, or someone else does, you will have to stay in the Labyrinth.  Indefinitely."

"Do I have a choice then?  What could you do to me if I refuse to look?"

"Keep you in the Labyrinth forever, dear Sarah…don't be difficult."

"Well…who took the key?"

Jareth just looked at her in disdain.

"Okay, so you don't know."  Sarah bit her lip, falling deep into thought.  

_Well, the Labyrinth seemed impossible, and it wasn't, so this can't be either.  Plus, I have powers now, or seem to, so it will be easier.  Before, I wanted my book and it came to me.  Maybe if I really think about wanting this key, it will just…show up.  I mean, Jareth is powerful, more powerful than me, of course, but what if his powers are different?  What if he can't summon the key and I can and I'll find it so fast no one will even know that I'm gone."_

"Well, Sarah, do you accept my challenge?"  _Not that you have a choice._

"Yes.  Yes, I accept."

"And you accept the traditional conditions of such a challenge?"

"Um…yes."  Sarah said.  "And if that's it, I'd like to get started.  It's Karen's night to cook, so we're probably having pizza tonight."

"Fine.  I will transport you to the underground just as soon as all the prerequisites of your search have been satisfied."  

That said, Jareth suddenly summoned a crystal in one strong, black-gloved hand and hurled it in Sarah's direction.  Sarah screamed and tried to duck, but she never felt an impact.  When she looked up, the crystal, or she assumed it was the same crystal, was back in Jareth's hand. 

"What was that for?!?!?"  Sarah shouted.

"You agreed to abide by traditional rules, so I will be in control of your powers until you find the key."

Sarah's face turned white, but it wasn't because Jareth was suddenly advancing toward her.  It had a lot more to do with the information Jareth had just imparted, and the realization it generated.   

She had no powers, no way to call the key, and no idea how to look for it otherwise.  

She was going to be in the underground forever.

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And now the huge, big, incredible thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.  There were so many!  Yeah for cliffhangers!  Anyways, thank you so much to Heikgan, Arianne, CrystalUnicorn, Dark Mage Mistress, Sarah (no joke), Megan, Brandy Parduhn, Kayson, Renegade Seraph, and Speaker or the Spirits (how creepy? j/k)!!!  You guys are so, so cool!!


	6. The Story of Jareth's Queen

**These Powers That Be**

            Jareth sighed and slid gracefully, but exhaustedly, onto his throne.  It had been nearly twenty-four hours since he had returned Sarah Williams to the Underground, and her disposition had certainly not improved with the passage of time.

            Sarah had, in fact, arrived in the Underground in this very room, and he had seen recognition flash in her eyes, and remembered how reaching this room before had eventually led her into the mind-twisting experience of the hall of stairs.  He smiled wryly at that thought.

            _"I can give you your dreams.  Nothing more.  Nothing less."_

But that hadn't been enough for Sarah.  He moved walls, worlds, stars for her, and, he had to admit, for his own amusement.  And what did she give him in return?

Nothing.  

Her loyalty had stayed with her little brother, a baby.  

Even knowing her as well as he did, from years of patient watching and wanting, it was the last thing he expected.  To offer a dreamer her every desire was something too wonderful to be refused.  Yet she had found the power to do it.  Even with the powers he had given her, he could not have covered that eventuality.  

_"You have no power over me."_

Those words were ancient, one of the few magics stronger than that at the disposal of the Goblin King.  Jareth had given Sarah the power to call him, and turned her from a simple girl, someone unable to accept magic, into a sort of half-fae, much in the way he turned children into magical creatures---little goblins.  

However, with those words, Sarah had unwittingly given herself a stronger power, a power nearly unrivaled, and she was coming into it now.  He had watched in awe and growing trepidation as she managed things incapable to a mere human that could not be explained by the small amounts of his own magic bestowed upon her.  No, by defeating his Labyrinth, Sarah had taken on magic and become powerful in her own right.

But she didn't know it yet, and therein was the King's advantage.  

Of course, she knew she had never been able to move or call things with her mind before.  He expected that much of his Sarah.  But, luckily, he had found a legal way to extract her powers from her before she discovered their potency and depth.   

And now she was in the Underground, powerless, but not hopeless.  But her quest was nearly impossible, more twisting and treacherous than the Labyrinth, and less straightforward.  

Jareth smiled as he recalled her efforts so far.  From the moment Sarah has arrived in the underground she had been quick to gauge her situation as best she could.  He didn't think she was expecting to be without her powers, but if she was angered by his slight deception, there was no outward sign.  Biting her lip in a childish way that both intrigued and infuriated him, Sarah had begun to ask him questions.

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_"Will I be able to look anywhere I want for the key?  The Labyrinth, the castle, and other places I don't know about yet?"_

_"You are free to move about anywhere that I deem safe.   That includes the Labyrinth, as you are not challenging it, my castle, and much of the lands beyond.  I will provide you with a guide for the places with which you are unfamiliar."_

_"Will you answer my questions and help me if you can?  Because you don't know where this key is either?"_

Jareth had smiled dangerously at that one.

_"Of course, I will always be at your disposal.  But if your queries or ideas lead me to the key first, the victory is mine."_

Sarah's reaction to that realization had been less than ladylike, he recalled with a frown.

_"Where was the key last seen, and what does it look like?"_

_"I last saw the key when I placed it at the center of the Labyrinth.  It disappeared during a summit of the nine surrounding kingdoms.  It has two specific forms."_

_"What, specifically, are those forms?"_

_"Your questions tire me, Sarah…"_

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            And since then, Sarah had been out canvassing the Labyrinth, trying to find some jumping off point for a real search.  It wouldn't be easy, he knew.  If the key wanted to be found, Jareth would have found it already.  He had already been called away a number of times and appeared to find an irate Sarah complaining about the unfairness and the fruitlessness of her search. 

            He had little to say to such claims, because she was probably right.  Her task was nearly insurmountable, and he was being completely unfair. 

            But the point of Sarah's being here wasn't for her to find the key.  Jareth didn't expect that she would, at all.  The point was that he had lost her once, and he was accustomed to getting what he wanted sooner of later.

            And sooner of later, Sarah would be forced to give up the search, and that's when he would offer her a better deal than the one she currently toiled under.

            He would give Sarah back her powers.  They were rightly hers, and with them she was worthy to be called a fae, a creature of magic.  And with that status, Sarah could do anything she liked in the underground.

            Jareth had enough confidence in his powers of persuasion that he was sure he would be able to convince her that what she wanted to be was a queen.

More specifically, the Queen of the Goblins.

Jareth conjured up a crystal to watch his future queen's search.  He found her trying to wheedle some information out of a particularly non-verbal stone troll and a nasty looking tree fairy.  As Sarah moved her arms energetically, the fairy appeared to get bored, and leaned over to bite the troll causing it to flee in terror.  Then it flew away with not even a backwards glance at Sarah.  Sarah slumped down onto a nearby boulder in defeat, and barely managed to stifle a yawn.

Jareth decided it was time he extended an invitation to stay in the castle, before Sarah fell asleep in the middle of the Labyrinth.

Moments later, a white owl was speeding over the Labyrinth walls to the side of a very angry, very sleepy Sarah Williams.

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In a far off kingdom, a gloved hand held a dark crystal with which a man watched the owl's flight.  When he saw the target that had caused the great bird's hurry, the man smiled.  Sarah was back in the Underground.

            Everything was going as planned.             

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hi ya'll!  you know, I wonder if people read these notes, really.  well, if you do, I hope you aren't bored by this chapter.  I know it was a little slow, even if it was about Jareth.  it was basically meant to explain some things and set up some things that needed explaining and setting up in order for the story to move forward.  next chapter should be a lot more fun! REVIEW!!!!!!  THANK YOU!!!!!

And the Oscar goes to….

Speaker of the Spirits, Heikgan, Sarah (no joke), draegon-fire, Zabella, Xelena, JLF

for _reviewing chapter 5!!!_


	7. The Story of Sarah's Room

These Powers That Be  
  
When Sarah woke up, she knew exactly where she was. Well, not exactly. The bed didn't feel familiar, and she couldn't pinpoint her exact location in the Labyrinth, but she knew that's where she was.  
  
The Labyrinth. The Labyrinth ruled by a king who could terrify and excite her all at once. The Labyrinth ruled by a king who held a grudge against her. The Labyrinth with a missing key she had to find if she didn't want to be trapped by that same king for the rest of her life.  
  
Sarah wouldn't have expected to be so lucid after the surreal experiences of the last twenty-four-odd hours. She would have expected to be disoriented, disbelieving, or oblivious after a night of sleep.  
  
But she wasn't.  
  
And she knew why. After she had escaped the Labyrinth last time, she had been able to distract herself with school and Toby and all the rest of the things that made up her teenage life. But yesterday, when extraordinary, Labyrinth-like powers began to infringe on her everyday world, there wasn't a separation anymore. Sarah couldn't pretend the Labyrinth was a dream anymore. She was starting to think that the Labyrinth was the only really real thing in her life. And it would continue to be, until she found the key.  
  
At this point in her mental rambling, Sarah realized that she still hadn't opened her eyes. Well, of course she hadn't, because she had no idea what she would find when she did. The last thing she remembered, she had been trying in vain to elicit information from a motley collection of Labyrinth dwellers. They weren't being very helpful, and some of them were acting downright mean.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Just as a small goblin was advancing on her with an equally small, but pointy looking object, a shadow fell over him. When he looked up, his face turned as white as it could considering the fact he was green, and he raced away in fear. Sarah whirled around to see what more dangerous creature awaited her just in time to see a huge snowy owl disappear completely leaving Jareth in it's place.  
  
Sarah was pretty sure she preferred the Goblin.  
  
"Well, Sarah, I'm disappointed in you. It's been much longer than thirteen hours, and you don't seem to be having any luck at all. Perhaps the last time can be summed up as beginners luck?"  
  
"Of course I haven't found it yet! I don't even know what it looks like, or where it was last, or anything! It not."  
  
Dammit, don't say fair.  
  
".going to be easy. Even you couldn't find it. Besides, you knew I wouldn't find it easily, if at all. You tricked me into this. You took my powers, you basically kidnapped me from my world! You.you."  
  
Then, as Sarah was trying to think of some other horrible crime to ascribe to Jareth, a very humiliating thing happened. She yawned.  
  
Jareth smiled a look of knowing satisfaction on his face.  
  
"Now then, little girl, don't be difficult." He said in a mocking voice. "It's past your bedtime."  
  
Sarah was ready with a quick retort, but she couldn't seem to connect the thought to her mouth. She stifled another yawn, and for the first time in nearly a day her eyelids felt heavy.  
  
"Goodnight, sweet Sarah. Dream well, my queen." The words might have been whispered or imagined, but Sarah couldn't be sure which was the case. She was already much more than half asleep.  
  
That was the last thing she remembered until now, lying in an unfamiliar bed with her eyes closed. With a sigh, Sarah finally sat up, and opened her eyes. What had she heard Jareth say as she was falling completely asleep? She shook her head. It didn't matter. She wouldn't let anything Jareth did distract her. Today was a new day, and today she would find the key, beat Jareth at his newest game, and return home.  
  
Having detailed her goals, Sarah finally began to take in the room around her. As angry as she was, the beautiful room made things a little better. The walls and ceiling were made up of a rose-silver stone set with arching beams of heavy, glossy-dark wood. There was a fire burning gently in a large fireplace beneath a bronze grate, and the walls were hung with intricate tapestries to hold in the warmth. The very bed Sarah was sitting on was gorgeous of itself, covered in soft, silky blankets and sheets.  
  
Sarah would have sighed in contentment and snuggled back in for a nap, if she hadn't been worried about the key. And something else was bothering her as well. She just couldn't figure out what it was. She traced here eyes up and down the room, biting her lip in contemplation. Then her eyes widened in shock, and she slid quickly of the bed, still searching the walls furiously with her startling green eyes.  
  
The thing that had been bothering her, worrying her at the back of her mind was suddenly, startlingly clear. There was no door.  
  
Sarah took a deep breath and released all her anger into one loud scream. "Jareth!"  
  
She waited, but nothing happened.  
  
"Jareth! What kind of trick is this? I'm suppoused to be looking for the key to your stupid Labyrinth, not the door to a prison cell!"  
  
Sarah was a lot more worried at Jareth's continued absence than she would have been if he had appeared, irate and dangerous, before her. What was to stop him form leaving her here forever? The rules to his damn game were so amorphous, he could just claim she had to stay in the Labyrinth until she found the key, and she obviously hadn't, and wouldn't until she was at least out of this room. She started to panic.  
  
"Jareth! Jareth, please!" Sarah felt eyes begin to tear. "Somebody, let me out!"  
  
"Sarah!" An angry Jareth finally, and, as was his custom, suddenly, appeared directly in front of Sarah, snapping at her angrily. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get things done with every goblin in the bloody place running away each time they hear you scream? I have other problems than you to deal with."  
  
"You locked me up in here because you think I'm a problem? You're the one with problems. You have to give me a fair chance to actually look for the key!"  
  
"Sarah, Sarah, do be quiet. I don't think I can stand one of your tirades on fairness. It just doesn't seem to get through to you that here that I make the rules."  
  
Sarah started to say something but Jareth quickly went on.  
  
"However, my intention was not to detain you from your search. The door to this room is hidden and can only be opened by you and me."  
  
Sarah's eyes widened as a sweep of Jareth's hand revealed an intricately carved wooden door in a previously empty section of wall. When Sarah looked up Jareth was smiling with satisfaction and moving towards her swiftly. Before she could back away, he took hold of her hand. Sarah was about to protest when she looked up and caught his eyes. She felt a powerful tug in her stomach, and for a moment she forgot just what it was she was protesting to. Jareth studied her face intently for a moment, both of them caught in each other's gaze, and then released her hand.  
  
Sarah shook her head and took a step away. She felt like she had just woken up from a dream. "What." Suddenly Sarah realized that her hand was lightly clutching a cold, metal object. She opened it to see a small silver key resting on her palm.  
  
"The key?"  
  
"A key. The key to this room. You should keep it with you at all times, but if someone else were to obtain it, my earlier statement would hold. Only you can open the door."  
  
"You said that you can open it." Sarah pointed out.  
  
"It is my door." Jareth paused to take in Sarah's glare. Then, as was becoming his custom, he managed to begin speaking just as she was about to yell at him. "Now, I suppose you wish to resume your search."  
  
"Of course I do, I'm getting out of here as soon as possible." As soon as the comment was out of her mouth, Sarah felt the same strange twisting in her stomach. She looked up at Jareth, to find he was looking at her with an unreadable expression in his dark mismatched eyes. Finally, Jareth broke what was becoming yet another tension filled silence.  
  
"Tonight I am hosting a ball at the castle for the nobility of neighboring kingdoms, and my own. I cannot promise you any information, but if you wish to attend and be on the lookout for anything pertaining to your search, you may. However, you are not to speak specifically to anyone of your agenda."  
  
"Why would you invite me to the ball? If you're looking for the key to?"  
  
Jareth's face kept that same, unreadable expression. "Let's just say I desire. the pleasure of your company. If you wish to attend, you will be in your room by seven o' clock this evening. There will be servants here to attend you and dress you properly for the event."  
  
Sarah blushed when Jareth shot a mocking glance toward the clothes she had been wearing since she dressed for school thirty-some hours before. Her carefully chosen outfit had since then been sat on, torn, and slept in and her long dark hair was no doubt curling into a long, tangled mess. She looked down to take in her disheveled appearance. When she looked up with a dramatic sigh Jareth had disappeared, no doubt in a flurry of silent smoke and glitter.  
  
Sarah looked down at the key in her hand, and decided to attach it to the thin, antique-silver chain hanging around her neck. It would be stupid not to take advantage of Jareth's offer, despite his dubious reasons. However, the clock over the mantle left her nearly five hours until she needed to be back in her room. Since her outfit was ruined already, she might as well head out to do some dirty, fruitless detective work.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
In the lands beyond Jareth's castle, hundreds of carriages were traveling to the ball. It was to be the event of the year, but then again, Jareth's parties always were.  
  
In many carriages, parents were instructing their unmarried daughters in ways to try to entice the most eligible bachelor in the underground. In carriages carrying the kings and queens of other lands, there was hope that the seeds of certain trade agreements or treaties might be carefully planted tonight in conversations with the Goblin King. A few guests were still at home, already preparing for the festivities and planning of transporting to the castle later by magic.  
  
Yet everyone, king or queen, daughter or noble, was thinking of something else too. Everyone had heard the rumors that Jareth had recently approached the seven lands castle and angrily demanded that the key to the labyrinth be sought by all. He threatened war if it was not soon found, on any land that might harbor the key, or know anything f its whereabouts. The rumor was that Jareth suspected someone involved with the council or one of the seven noble courts had something to do with stealing the key.  
  
So the excited whisper was that, if the rumors were true, the person or persons who stole the key would be in attendance tonight. And Jareth would be on the lookout for them.  
  
Things could get exciting.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
hey guys! sorry that this chapter took so long. I have windows xp, and I guess the site is not always letting my uploads work. I know it has been forever, and I hope you guys are still going to read! once again, sorry and I hope the problems are gone for good!  
  
-mari  
  
Thank you to everyone who reviewed this week! Just so ya'll know, if I miss a name it is just because you reviewed after I wrote the next chapter and before I uploaded it. sorry for the omission and I definitely have read your review and really really really really appreciate it! SO, easter (or Passover, or whatever) baskets go to.  
  
The Crazy Cricket, dawn, Xelena, Helin Lote, Heikgan, Huntress_Skyfire, CrytalUnicorn, JLF, NightChild0101, Sarah (no joke), OriginalProxy, terrie (3x! thanks), Nethene Khthon, Sierra_Falls 


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